Scourge
by Nisus
Summary: CHAPTER 5 ADDED! Four super-breed demons surface in LA and it's up to Angel Investigations to hunt them down before they become invincible.
1. Justin and Si

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except my own. I own them. They're mine!  
Timeline: Mid season four; Cordy's back, just before 'Apocalypse Nowish.' Except give a bit more time for these events to happen. 

"Hey man, pass that thing over here."  
Justin obliged and passed the cigar over to his friend Si. He brought it to his lips and took a long drag, leaning back onto the ruined couch and exhaling slowly after a long breath.  
" Now that's what I'm talkin' about," he said, instantly looking more relaxed.  
Justin grinned across the gap between them. The alley was home for tonight – whatever kicked them out in the morning was a matter for the imagination of the bored homeless guys. They had robbed a grocery store a couple of hours before, what they had taken wasn't even important enough to report, a couple of candy bars and of course, the cigar. Neither of them had smoked for weeks and Si'd been getting the shakes pretty bad. Normally he'd have suggested going to see a doctor, but a medical visit wasn't something you could win in a competition or steal so he figured their luck was out on that one, too.  
He leaned back onto the pink couch, head resting on the stuffing which had spilled out of the tear at the top of the cushion. It stank real bad but he wasn't going to complain, it was better than the floor.  
" So…" said Justin, feeling himself drift off to sleep. "What do you want to do tomorrow?"  
" Well, let's see," replied Si, taking another drag of the cigar. He paused to exhale, smoke curling around his nostrils. "How about we do what we did today?"  
" Now that's a mighty fine suggestion, but I thought that we could move house again."  
" Again?" answered Si, incredulous. Justin didn't have any intention of moving again – he just liked to see Si a bit flustered.  
" Yeah, I'm bored of this part of the city," he said, trying to suppress a smile. "What about that place we were at the other week?" The joke had gotten old already, if it was a joke in the first place, but it was a way to pass the time.  
" What about what happened to that guy?"  
" What guy?"  
" You know, the guy who had the thing and we took it?"  
" Oh yeah…forgot about that."  
" So that's a no to the moving then?"  
"… I guess."  
There was silence for a few minutes. Justin heard Si puffing away on the cigar from time to time, but he didn't really want it back now.  
" So what do you want to do tomorrow?"  
" I dunno," replied Si. "We could always wait and see what happens tonight, and figure it out in the morning."  
" Good idea."  
" I mean, how much can happen in one night?"  
" I dunno, how much?"  
"… Not a lot, I guess. Not to us, anyway. Nothing ever happens to us."  
Justin rolled his eyes. He could picture Si's face without even having to look over. Once every so often Si went on one of these mopey depressions, at first he'd been concerned but now it was just Si being Si. Justin leaned further back into the couch, letting the faulty springs take all of his weight and sink deeper into the mouldy fluff that was home for the night.

He wasn't sure how to place what he was dreaming. He could hear soft munching sounds, the noise of syrup hitting porcelain…was someone having breakfast? He allowed himself to be drawn into the dream, the only decent food he ate was in his head. The noises carried on even though he wanted them to change…this was his dream, wasn't it? No, nothing was his, he only borrowed them. He dreamed of happier times, of before his existence of today.  
"… Si…?" Justin muttered, rousing from his sleep. He groggily blinked – nope, the world hadn't ended, there was the alley wall where he'd left it. The streetlight still shone from the main street. The battered couch was still beneath him, the empty pit that was his stomach hadn't deserted him. It leapt up into his mouth when he looked to his left however.  
" Si?" he asked again, now fully awake, sitting forward on his couch. Si lay slack on the couch, eyes lazily rolled up into his head, drool seeping from one side of his mouth. "Si!"  
Justin felt the icy grip of fear clutch his chest, and he leapt forward, shaking his closest friend.  
" C'mon, man, you can't leave me, you're the only thing I've got left!"  
He began to sob, despair tearing at his heart. The world began to slip away, blackness seeping into his eyes.  
He didn't notice the woman behind him approach, only when she placed a hand on his back, rubbing it softly.  
" Aww, honey…" she whispered in a mournful, sympathy filled voice.  
Justin let his weight fall entirely into the arms of the female stranger.  
" I'm so sorry," she continued in a mystical, husky voice.  
" But I need him!" sobbed Justin. "It's so unfair…it's all so unfair…!"  
" I know, I know, shh." She rocked him gently now. "Now stand up, baby." She picked him up, and he stood numbly in front of her. "I can make to pain all go away, you just give me the word and I'll do it, I can make things as thought none of this ever happened."  
" Yes…yes…" Justin whispered weakly.  
" Oh, baby, it's all gonna be alright," smiled the woman. She pushed him back onto the couch, suddenly serious, and straddled him, pushing his head back.  
" What are you – " stammered Justin, shocked out of his despair.  
" I'm takin' the pain away," uttered the woman, but in a dreadful, low voice. "I'm takin' it all away!" She opened her mouth impossibly wide and reared her head, but two hands grasped it and yanked her backwards, throwing her off balance and toppling her onto the cold, hard concrete with a loud smack.  
Justin looked up, terrified, at the monstrous creature now before him, it lumbered seven feet tall and had an impossibly large number of teeth jutting out from out of its snout, dark green skin oozing some kind of thick liquid that spattered the floor around it whenever it moved. It's body was covered in a brown tunic, arms and legs jutting out ending in large scything talons.  
A low, terrible growl built up deep in its throat and it brought its arm down upon the woman's head, making an awful splat, blue ooze seeping in a large puddle.  
Out of pure instinct, Justin sprung up from the couch and didn't look back.  
He ran from Si.  
He ran from the woman.  
He ran from the terrible monster.  
He ran from the demons festering inside of him.  
He ran straight into a phone booth and, hands shaking uncontrollably, picked up the receiver and dialled '911.' It took him several seconds to realise that there wasn't a dial tone and it wasn't ringing. He pressed down onto the phone's cradle and tried again. It didn't work.  
For the first time in what felt like days, he looked around at his surroundings. He was a couple of miles from the alley – he recognised the street. The phone booth here hadn't worked for years. He choked out a strangled sob and looked at the phone desperately.  
For some reason, the noticeboard above the box caught his attention. A shining white card, wedged in among the rest of the adverts.

'We Help the Helpless.'  
' Angel Investigations.'  



	2. The Party's Over

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except my own. I own them. They're mine!  
Timeline: Mid season 4, just before 'Apocalypse Nowish.' Just allow a bit more time for these events to happen hehe. 

"Angel Investigations…?" Justin muttered. Hearing himself speak calmed him somewhat, assuring him he hadn't just gone AWOL and imagined the whole thing.  
" Okay…I just need to figure this out," he said, hoping that it would all just figure itself out but knowing at the back of his mind it was up to him, just like always.   
" Right…I ring this number. I speak to the guys there, nothing's on the line, they're not the cops but I can use them for protection. Nothing has to be official here."  
He nodded to himself, deciding that this was going to be the best course of action. Then, "In a different phone booth though."  
He turned around slowly, half expecting the horrible face to be staring at him through the glass, but nothing was there. He slammed open the door to the phone booth and sprinted down the empty street.

"All right, fellas," Angel said, walking through the large circle which had been cut into the wall of the sewers, "Party's over."  
The Klendau demons scowled up at him from whatever filth they were eating and started muttering amongst themselves. The biggest one in the room stood up slowly and the others shut up immediately.  
" Angel…" whispered Gunn from behind the vampire, who nodded ever so slightly. He could almost hear Gunn tightening his grip on his large home-made axe.  
The large Klendau took long, measured steps through the gathering of its fellows, heading towards the intruders. Angel subtly twisted his hands so the mounted stakes up his sleeves would spring towards the demon, rather than away as they were pointed before.  
It stopped right in front of Angel, staring evilly down at the vampire, sweat glistening on its leathery brown skin.  
Angel couldn't help but notice one large fang protruded down from its mouth and down towards the floor, ending in a vicious point. He had to crane his neck to keep eye contact with the monster. Slowly, the Klendau tensed and drew in a breath.  
" Have you got an invitation?"  
" Uhm…no, its just it was getting a little rowdy-sounding down here and there're people trying to sleep upstairs…so if you don't mind could you just move along for the evening?"  
The Klendau eyed him for a moment, tilting its head to one side. Angel smiled meekly.  
After a long moment, it spoke.  
" All right, guys, lets call it a night."  
The other Klendaus immediately set up a huge racket, but the big one turned around and gave them all a long look – they fell silent.  
" Thanks for your time," said Angel, who made a hasty exit after Gunn.  
" Damn," said Gunn, starting back towards the hotel, "That guy was huge!"  
" Yeah, tell me about it. I could've taken him though."  
" Oh, of course, Mr. Eternal Strength and Nobility."  
" Hey, I mean it, Klendaus are herbivores, very pacifistic. Nice guys, once you get to know them."  
" I'll put it on my to do list," said Gunn unenthusiastically.  
They reached the stairs which lead up to the hotel basement – they'd been kept awake by the immense racket the demons had set up in the sewers just below the hotel.  
Fred was waiting for them as they ascended.  
" Are you all okay?" she asked anxiously.  
" Piece of cake," answered Angel with a smirk.  
" You didn't…?" she started. "I thought they were peaceful!"  
" Hey, not every meeting with demons I have ends in violence," stated Angel defensively. Then he thought for a moment. "Just…you know…most of them." Satisfied with that retort he headed up into the main lobby floor leaving Gunn and Fred standing uncomfortably in the basement.  
" So…" began Gunn. "You didn't get back to sleep?"  
" No…" answered Fred, fidgeting with her hands. "It was with the noise and worrying about you guys."  
" Well, you don't have to worry about me and Angel, we can take care of ourselves," said Gunn.  
" Yeah, I know," said Fred under her breath.  
Gunn stood awkwardly for a moment after he picked up on what Fred said.  
" Well, I'm heading back to bed."  
" Oh, okay."  
He began to say something but decided against it, instead brushing past Fred and upstairs. After a moment she followed him.

Angel noticed Gunn storm upstairs, and wondered what was the matter. He and Fred had been acting strange lately, but he hadn't mentioned it. He headed into the office when the phone rang. He rushed to it (business had been a little slack lately and he was waiting to hear from Cordy) and picked it up, gushing; "Angel Investigations, we help the helpless, how can we help you?"  
" Uhm…you guys deal in like…weird stuff?" It was framed as a question.  
Angel smiled, wondering if this kid had any idea what he was talking to. "You could say that."  
" Well you can do something about helping me because I'm in way over my head here."  
The kid sounded worried. Traumatised even. His voice shook. The smile faded from Angel's face.  
" Where are you?"  
" Look, I need to know if you can help me."  
" If you tell me where you are I can help you."  
Angel could hear some kind of music behind the kid's voice, they were singing really badly…  
" I need to know if you'll help me or if you'll chop me up into little pieces and feed me to whatever's chasing me!" The kid's voice had reached shouting proportions now.  
" Look, I give you my word, if I can help you I will."  
There was silence for a moment.  
Then the kid whispered, "Oh my God…"  
Angel heard the phone clatter against the side of what must be a booth, then the sound of glass shattering and the kid screaming.  
" Kid! KID!" He shouted into the phone, completely helpless to aid the poor guy. Then suddenly he slammed down the phone, grabbed his coat from the stand behind him and ran out into the lobby, shouting for Gunn. Fred darted out of the back.  
" Angel? What is it?" she asked frantically.  
" There's a kid, he's outside a karaoke bar, he's in big trouble, he's just phoned," said Angel almost all at once, slamming open the weapons cabinet as he spoke and getting out something long and sharp and handing it to Fred.  
" What's up!?" asked Gunn as he flew down the stairs.  
" Kid in bad trouble." Angel whipped another sword out of the cabinet and, seeing that Gunn still had his axe from before, said "Let's go!"  
They hurried out of the hotel and into Angel's car, who started it up and flew through the night towards the closest karaoke bar he knew of.

They pulled up outside the second bar – and sure enough, there lay the remains of the phone booth the kid had phoned from.  
Angel sprang from the car and started sniffing the air around the smashed glass.  
" He was afraid. Real afraid." He stopped, sniffing one place. "Lilah?"  
" Huh?" asked Gunn, stepping forward.  
" Lilah was here, and she took the kid with her."  
" What the hell does Lilah want with a scared kid?" asked Gunn, incredulous. "And if this is thing that's dragged us out here in the dead of the night, I'm not gonna be too happy with her…"  
" I'm afraid it's much worse than that."  
They whirled around to see Wesley standing across the street.  
" The lad wasn't being chased by Lilah, he was being hunted by a species of demon I've never encountered before. Very strong, very hardy, and very difficult to kill. I'm glad to say there are only a few in town but I don't think it'll stay like that for long."  
There was a brief pause.  
" Wow, I'm glad that you can turn up and lighten our moods like that, Wes," Gunn said.  
" How many so far?" asked Angel, blanking Gunn.  
" Three that I'm aware of, and one of them's still in the area. Wolfram and Hart's operatives could only incapacitate it for a brief time."  
" And why didn't you stop them?" Gunn asked. Angel was interested in the answer, too. He'd picked up Lilah's scent on Wes but didn't want to say anything in front of the others.  
" There were too many of them," answered Wesley simply.  
Suddenly a shop window burst open further down the street and glass spilled out across the street. A bloody, green body shot out and lay limp in the middle of the glass.  
" Lorne!?" said Angel, Fred and Gunn in unison. Wesley just started down the street.  
A large, powerful looking demon lumbered out after the other demon, splattering the ground with some kind of thick liquid which came from its skin.  
Angel started down the street, yelling back to Fred and Gunn, "Get out of here, get back to the hotel!"  
Gunn looked at the demon, then at Fred, then at the demon again. Angel looked over his shoulder and gazed at Gunn, willing him to take Fred to safety. Gunn got the message and told Fred to get into the car, which she did. Gunn, however, hovered by the door looking on at Angel and Wes.  
Wesley reached the demon first, flicking his wrist causing a shiny metal blade to appear. He swung at the demon but it blocked his attack and kicked Wes's legs out from underneath him, sending him crashing to the ground. Angel leaped across the remaining gap and collided with the monster, making it stumble. Angel yelled across his shoulder, "Get him out of here!" Not stopping to see if Wes had retrieved Lorne, he swung at the enormous creature with his sword, taking a chunk out of its arm. It roared in pain, swinging at the vampire with its other arm.  
Angel ducked under the blow, bringing the sword up again attacking the demon's leg. It brought its arm onto Angel's head, sending him flat on his back, stunned for a few precious seconds. The demon brought its leg up to stamp down on Angel's head, but it staggered backwards with a crossbow bolt embedded in its chest. Angel shook himself out of it, glancing back to the car seeing Gunn reloading the crossbow, and launched at the demon once again. He tried to plunge the sword into where he thought the demon's heart would be but it swung its arm up, driving the sword aside. It followed through on the block, driving its fist into Angel's chest, sending him sprawling onto the road several feet behind.  
A small groan escaped his chest as he hit the concrete, and he struggled back to his feet, using the sword as a support. The creature lumbered toward him, then roared in frustration as a crossbow bolt point appeared from its shoulder. It turned to attack, not realising Gunn was actually all the way down the street, and Angel leaped at the demon, stabbing at its chest. It whirled and pushed Angel with all its strength, sending him flying again. It ran toward the vampire, roaring with rage, when a metal sword stabbed through its chest, again and again, from its back.  
The demon howled again, but the howls were getting weaker and full of liquid. Blood spurted out from its mouth and it collapsed to its knees, flailing at its assailant. Angel stood up and could see Wesley plunging the sword into the demon, again and again, when it twisted around in a final display of defiance, grabbing at Wesley. However, it was too weak and it collapsed onto the Englishman, sending him plummeting to the ground.  
" Wesley!" called Angel in surprise. He couldn't see him, the demon was obscuring his view.  
He rounded the other side of the demon's body, and actually started to chuckle.  
Wesley was pinned under the massive bulk of the demon's body, sword still jutting out from the other side of the monster. As it was attached he couldn't move his right arm and was struggling in vain to extract it. Angel heard Gunn jog up behind him, and the snort that escaped his nose.  
Wesley stopped struggling and looked up at the two men, looking mildly embarrassed.  
" Can I get a hand?"  



	3. Sha’Tan’Uo

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except my own. I own them. They're mine!  
Timeline: Mid season 4, just before 'Apocalypse Nowish.' Just allow a bit more time for these events to happen hehe. 

Angel held up the corpse of the demon while Gunn helped to extract the sword. Wesley yanked his arm out from underneath and a pool of something he didn't want to guess what it was poured from the now definitely dead body.  
" I suppose one of us should ask the most obvious question – what the hell is it?"  
Wesley gave Gunn a sidelong glance. "I already told you, I've never encountered this species before."  
" Yeah, right, just like you never let that kid get snatched?"  
For a minute Angel flinched inwardly, thinking Gunn was referring to the time Wesley took off with Connor, his son, but then realised he meant the kid they'd just missed.  
" Again, I've already told you I couldn't take on all of Wolfram and Hart's operatives," said Wesley, hackles obviously going up.  
" Okay guys, lets just try and figure out what's going on here. Wesley, what happened when Lilah arrived?" Angel intervened. He cocked his head to the side indicating they should head back to the car.  
" No, I'd like to take this with us, if it's alright," said Wesley.  
Angel looked down at the demon, then back up at Wesley, almost saying Do I have to?  
Wesley replied, "Angel, we need to learn as much as we can about these new demons and this is the quickest way I know about doing that."  
" Yeah, but…" reasoned Angel, looking in distaste at the goo seeping from the demon.  
Wesley gazed at Angel for a long moment.  
" Alright, alright, but you're cleaning the car," said Angel, stooping and putting a hand under the corpse's arm.

Connor sat down on the bed.  
" You'll have to call him eventually, you know."  
Cordelia sighed. "I know, but I'm not ready for that yet. I'm still a bit spaced from the whole being-a-higher-being thing. Not to mention the amnesia, then getting back all of my memories at once. Oh, and in case you've forgotten, the world's about to end. So all in all, not my best week."  
Connor didn't say anything. A few moments passed.  
" Stop it."  
" Stop what?" he replied, a bit bewildered. Living with Cordy could be a bit unpredictable, he'd learned.  
" Stop giving me the silent treatment!"  
" But…I'm not…" he stopped. "Okay, I'm sorry."  
Silence again.  
Cordy sighed and stood up. "Look, Connor…I'm sorry. I just…I think I need to be alone for a little while, sort a few things out in my head. I know you're trying to help me, but I think this is something I need to do by myself."  
Connor nodded, slightly hurt. He got up to walk out, but Cordy touched his arm, stopping him in his tracks.  
" Just a little while…okay?"  
He realised what she meant.  
" Okay. I'll be back soon."  
She smiled and let go of his arm. He ghosted out of the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

Wesley slammed the book shut with an air of finality.  
" It's a Sha'Tan'Uo demon," he said with undeniable relief.  
They'd been in the back office for hours, researching what the demon was and how it could be killed – more efficiently than last time.  
The others looked glad that the researching had come to an end.  
" Originates from southwest Turkey, along a series of small island chains there, and in the mountainous regions on the mainland. No specific date given, however this edition gives a reference to the demons migrating further and further away from the immigrants of the islands until they seemed to just disappear. Several theories have been forwarded, however the one best explaining how they travelled halfway across the planet is that they mastered trans-dimensional and portal travel."  
Wesley didn't notice, but Fred sunk further back in her chair when he mentioned portals. Gunn, however, did notice, and found the desk an interesting place to look.  
Angel grinned. "Okay, so how do we kill them…better?"  
Wesley shrugged. "Hacking them to pieces appears to be the most effective method of killing them."  
Angel sunk back into his chair. "Alright, back to the drawing board…"  
Fred dropped her book, stood up and ran out of the room.  
" Fred?" called Gunn, running after her.  
Wesley grabbed the book from where Fred had dropped it and scanned the page for relevant information.  
" Oh my God…" he muttered.  
" What is it!?" asked Angel, panicked.  
" You actually have to hack them to pieces – that's the only way of killing them," he said, starting out of the room.  
Before he could leave, Fred and Gunn came back in.  
" Uh, guys?" said Fred.  
" The demon's gone," finished Gunn.  
The bell rang from the lobby.  
Without thinking, Angel went to answer it.  
The Sha'Tan'Uo stood there, wounds still gleaming with blood.

Connor stalked down the alleyway, following the vampire that had come out of the nightclub with a young girl.  
He slammed her against the wall, hand covering her mouth so she couldn't scream.  
Connor tapped him on the shoulder, and he dumbly whirled around. Before he could say anything, a wooden stake was plunged into his heart and he exploded into a cloud of dust. The girl cowered in terror, eyes frozen on Connor.  
" Hey, it's okay now," he started. The girl continued to whimper.  
He was about to walk away when he realised she was looking past him…and above him.  
Connor spun around to be faced with a torso bigger than anything he'd ever seen in this dimension.  
He looked up at the grinning, hideously fanged jaw and tensed to strike out – but a moment too late. The demon had struck first and sent Connor stumbling down the alleyway. It went to attack the girl, but Connor frantically grabbed for some junk nearby, and threw it as hard as he could at the demon's head. He didn't even know what it was, but it did the job. The demon staggered sideways, clutching its skull.  
" Get out of here!" he yelled at the girl, and she ran away, shrieking in terror.  
The demon snarled fiercely and charged down the alleyway.  
Connor braced himself for the onslaught of the coming attack, and jumped into the air, swinging his leg around and connecting against the demon's head solidly. It roared in pain but kept coming. Connor went to punch the thing but it grabbed his fist and squeezed, making something pop loudly. He didn't give it the satisfaction of knowing it'd hurt him, he whipped his other hand around to bring the dagger hidden in a pouch on the small of his back, and plunged it into the demon's chest. It launched him backwards sending him tumbling back down the alleyway. He could feel the scrapes burning into his skin; hear the fabric of his clothing tear.  
Connor leaped back to his feet. Somehow, the demon was already there, landing both of its fists onto his shoulders. He crumbled onto his knees and it brought its knee into his face, making him fly backwards flat onto his back.  
He continued with the momentum of the blow, launching himself backwards and flipping back onto his feet.  
The demon was there, right in front of him again, but this time he was ready for it. He reached forward and ripped the dagger upwards, making blood gush from the open wound, and then out when he reached its rib cage.  
If the thing was annoyed before, it was insane with rage now.  
It grabbed hold of Connor, lifted him into the air and beat him against the brick wall of the alleyway. He felt the mortar crumble beneath his spine but couldn't make his arm reach forward and stab them demon.  
The dagger fell out of his hand, his right arm now senseless.  
The demon threw Connor out of the alley, and onto the small road behind it.  
He backed away toward the other side of the street, feeling the blood pour openly across his face and down his back. The demon started across the road, ready to finish him off.  
Connor didn't see the car until it had collided with the monster, but somehow it just staggered backwards while the cars hood dented. He fell to the floor, totally exhausted.  
The car door opened, and someone got out. It was a woman, in a leather jacket and blonde hair.  
" Tough guy, huh?"  
The demon growled at the newcomer.  
" Well, if that's the case…" she reached to her side, drew the gun holstered there, and blasted at the demon.  
It staggered backwards, already dazed from being hit by the car. Little torrents of blood started to pour from the bullet holes the woman kept placing in its chest.  
Finally, with one last gurgle, it fell backwards and with an immense splat, hit the road, blood and ooze spreading in a large puddle around it.  
The woman walked over to Connor, who was struggling to remain conscious.  
" You okay kid?" she asked in an amiable enough voice, considering. He managed a grunt in response.  
Police sirens echoed in the distance.  
" Crap," said the woman. "Listen, you want the cops in on this?" Connor tilted his head slightly from side to side.  
" Okay then, let's get you out of here." She picked him up and helped him walk the distance to the car and opened the passenger door when they arrived. He managed to pull himself into the car.  
She slammed the door shut, ran back around to the driver's side and climbed in.  
" Hey kid," she said as she strapped herself in. "You got a name?"  
" Connor," he managed.  
" Nice to meet you," answered the woman. "I'm Kate. Now let's get moving."

The Sha'Tan'Uo roared and charged at Angel, who was too surprised to do anything back. It collided with him and sent him stumbling backwards into the wall.  
" Angel!" cried Fred.  
Gunn leapt forward, still with his home-made axe, and attacked the demon.  
" Never got a chance to do this before," he said as he swung the axe at the enormous creature. It blocked all of his attacks except the last one, which sliced its left arm clean off. It howled in agony, and lashed out at Gunn, sending him sprawling onto the ground. It went to attack him on the ground but a massive blast shattered the relative silence of the lobby and sent the Sha'Tan'Uo flat onto its back on the ground.  
Wesley walked over to it, put a foot on its chest, cocked the shotgun, put the barrel to its head and fired again. It exploded with a muffled discharge and the demon finally lay limp on the ground.  
Angel walked over and examined the remains of the demon.  
" Beheading seems to work too," he observed.  
" We have to be certain though," answered Wesley.  
" Dammit," complained Angel, "You've already wrecked the car, do you have to do the same to the hotel?"  
Wesley nodded.  
" Fine," said Angel, dejected, "Let's get it into the basement…"  
Fred walked over, looking in shock at the demon.  
" Fred, check on Lorne, see if we have to call in…" he stopped and turned to Gunn. "Who do we call instead of a doctor for Lorne?"  
" Damned if I know," was the reply.  
" Anyway, go check on him." Fred wandered upstairs.  
" Gunn, come give us a hand with this?" Gunn nodded and headed over to the corpse.  
" Hey, Wesley," whispered Angel to the Englishman. He nodded and leaned in closer.  
" Where did you hide that shotgun?"  
Wesley just smiled, tapped the side of his nose, and started to haul away the dead body.


	4. One down

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except my own. I own them. They're mine!  
Timeline: Mid season 4, just before 'Apocalypse Nowish.' Just allow a bit more time for these events to happen hehe. 

Kate looked across the car at Connor.  
" You're looking a bit better," she said.  
" I'm a fast healer," replied Connor.  
They drove a fair distance before either of them spoke again.  
" Look, it's none of my business, but what were you doing fighting that thing?" Kate asked.  
" It's what I do," said Connor simply.  
" Oh, man," chuckled Kate.  
" What?"  
" You kinda remind me of someone I used to know. He was all mysterious and noble, too."  
" What happened?"  
Kate gazed thoughtfully for a moment. "He saved my life, and I haven't seen him since."  
" Oh." Connor thought for a moment. "Why not?"  
" Because sometimes people just go their separate ways. Doesn't mean anything's happened or not happened between them…they just move on."  
She pulled the car over.  
" Alright, I'm assuming you aren't your regular, run-of-the-mill guy off the street, so if I do this -" She leaned across the car and pressed a cross on the side of his face. Shocked, he grabbed hold of her arm but didn't move the cross away; at the last second realising what she was checking. After a few seconds of checking for smoke and burning she released the cross.  
" Good, at least I don't have to dust another one…"  
Connor suddenly wanted to get out of the car.  
" Look, maybe we can help each other. I need to dump this car, too many people will have seen it and with that dent they'll be able to trace me through the trail of witnesses alone. You interested?"  
For some reason, he stayed put. He nodded.  
" Don't talk much do you Connor?"  
He shook his head.  
" Well, okay…" She pulled out into the traffic flow, to wherever the night may take them.

"Oh, my head…" groaned Lorne. He was propped up in bed sporting all kinds of scratches and bruises.  
" What happened back there, Lorne?" asked Fred, who along with Angel and Gunn were upstairs while Wesley hacked the body of the demon up in the basement.  
" Well, I was doing a reading on an old friend of mine, real nice singing voice – it's a wonder she hasn't gone professional, actually – and all of a sudden this enormous brute wanders in, kills a couple of her clientele and gives me the strangest look…"  
He paused for a moment.  
Angel waited for a second, and then said, "Is that all?"  
" Yes, actually, then I woke up back here," said Lorne, with only the slightest air of anticlimax.  
" Great," muttered Gunn. "Which leaves us exactly at square one."  
" Not exactly, my fellow vanquisher of all things evil and slimy," continued Lorne with a smile. "Now, normally I can only read things when they sing to me…but this was something else. This demon has become so attuned to the psychic world…it has to feed on psychic energy itself. Not just any old psychic energy, mind, but that extra special type of energy which you can normally find in situations which are anything but."  
"… Anything but what?"  
Lorne gave Angel a puzzled look. "Normal."  
" Oh."  
" Energy like what?" asked Fred.  
" Like the kind humans make when they experience emotion that goes beyond anything they've experienced before; that makes them lose conscious control of themselves."  
Angel snapped his fingers. "Like the terror that kid must have been feeling."  
Lorne had been brought up to speed on the situation, and pointed at Angel. "Bingo."  
" Lilah must've been using him as bait to get to the demon, try and bargain with it…" said Angel, mostly to himself.  
" There's more, kiddo," said Lorne. "They can also feed off other beings which produce any kind of psychic energy."  
" Like you," said Gunn. Lorne just nodded.  
" So you're like…an all you can eat buffet?" asked Fred.  
" Yeah, if it wasn't trying to tear me limb from limb it probably could've fed off me for months," said Lorne. Then he thought for a moment. "Now that I think about it, I can't decide which one of those things is worse."  
" Alright, so it goes to where psychic demons are, right?"  
Lorne nodded at Angel.  
" And to where humans are feeling intense emotions?"  
" That's right, Angel cakes."  
" Okay, now we're getting somewhere," enthused Gunn, obviously tired of sitting around and waiting.  
" You said that you could read the demon before, right Lorne?" asked Fred.  
" Yeah, I did. And I've gotta say, I've read some pretty messed up members of the underworld in my time…but this has to be one of the worst."  
He was suddenly serious, a rare sight for Lorne.  
" It's smarter than it looks, it's relentless and it's not gonna stop until it gets what it wants."  
" And what's that?"  
" To kill us all."  
Wesley had wandered in.  
" Well, hopefully it won't come to that. There's only a maximum of four in the city and we've already dispatched one of them."  
" It's done then?" asked Angel, and Wesley nodded in reply.  
" I think the most prudent course of action is to get back onto the streets and hunt the remaining Sha'Tan'Uo demons."  
" Yeah, me too."  
They wandered out into the hallway, leaving Lorne to rest.  
" Alright, Gunn; you and Fred should stay here and make sure it's business as usual at Angel Investigations, take any house calls, and make sure Lorne is feeling alright. If the Sha'Tan'Uos are causing as much havoc out there as Lorne says they're capable of, then you'll probably be headed back onto the streets anyway. Me and Wes'll take the car and hunt don the rest of the big boys."  
Gunn didn't look too happy with the decision. "Look, Angel, I should be going out with you, not him. What if –"  
Angel put a hand on his shoulder. "Gunn…it'll be okay."  
Gunn nodded and stormed off down the corridor.  
Fred stood a moment longer, then said, "I should probably…" and then followed him.  
Wesley started talking to Angel as though nothing had happened. "We should start with the locales of any psychic demons we know of, see if they know anything or…"  
"… If they're dead?" Angel finished. Wesley nodded.  
They started down the corridor.  
" Are you sure we couldn't have taken Gunn along?" asked Wesley.  
" I need him here, taking calls, seeing to Lorne…he's the only one capable of taking a Sha'Tan'Uo if another one turns up here now that…"  
"… Now that I've gone?" Angel nodded. "Alright, I understand."  
They walked the remainder of the distance in silence.

Kate and Connor walked along the road, heading back to her place to crash for the night. Kate glanced at Connor.  
" You really are a fast healer, aren't you?"  
" Yeah."  
" Well, you're not a vampire, so what gives?"  
Connor paused for a moment. "I'm the son of two vampires."  
Kate stopped walking. "That's not possible."  
Connor turned to face her. "Well, here I am." She picked up on the hurt in his voice.  
" I'm sorry; it just caught me by surprise is all. I'm sort of new to this whole demon-fighting thing. I was under the impression that vampires couldn't have children."  
" They can't, normally. Which makes me a freak."  
He turned around and started walking again. Kate hurried to catch up with him.  
" Well, I for one am glad you're a freak."  
Connor glanced at her. Normally people tried to convince him that he wasn't a freak of nature, not be glad of the fact he was one.  
" Why's that?"  
" Because otherwise I'd have to drag you home. Or, more likely, you'd be dead. I know I would be with the beating you took earlier. But with all of that super-strength and healing, here you are."  
Connor thought about that point. He was pretty good at what he did, and without his...unique skills, he would've been dead long before tonight.  
" So what about you?" he asked, bringing himself back to the here and now.  
" Me? I'm a disgraced cop who loves the law too much to leave it in the hands of the jerks still on the force. I can't do my job the way I did before…so now I handle the side of the law that the others know nothing about."  
" You mean fighting demons?"  
She considered that. "Not exactly. I'm what you'd call a vigilante I guess. I sort out problems that normal people have that they can't take to the authorities."  
" But how do you know how to solve them if there aren't any rules to hold you in place?"  
She chuckled. "I ask myself that very same question myself every single day. And the answer I always come up with is; if I can't sleep at night then I'm doing something wrong."  
" So how do you generally sleep?"  
She smiled. "Like a baby."  
They wandered on a bit further without talking, and then they started down the street Kate said she was living on.  
A roar echoed in the distance.  
Connor automatically went into a defensive position, and Kate put her hand on her pistol.  
" I dropped that thing, it can't still be alive."  
" It could be another one." The roar echoed again. "Or maybe you didn't kill it."  
" Dammit," whispered Kate. She started down the street at a jog.  
" Where are you going?" called Connor, who started after her.  
" I have to finish it off!"  
Connor shook his head and just followed her, surprised at how well she followed the direction of the sounds of whatever the creature was.  
Gunfire joined the sounds of the demon howling as they approached the vicinity of whatever was going on.  
Then a person in full body armour and a semi-automatic flew out onto the street, neck bent at an impossible angle.  
Kate sprinted down to the street corner the body had flown from and glanced quickly around the corner, Connor right behind her.  
" Damn…" she whispered. She nodded her head and moved so Connor could look, and he did so.  
Soldiers were firing on two of the demons he had fought before; one of them was still full of bullet holes. They were being slaughtered; corpses lay at all angles around the street, soldiers and civilians alike. A humvee lay on its side, and several people were taking cover behind it, one of whom being a woman in a business suit, looking very out of place, barking into a cell phone.  
Parts of the demons bodies were appearing and disappearing, avoiding the bullets being fired at them by the soldiers. Every time a human was killed, the demon that killed them glowed faintly and attacked with a renewed strength.  
The soldiers were fighting a losing battle and they knew it. They started to back towards the humvee, when another rounded the corner and speeded toward the demons. Men poured from the back of it and started to take on the demons again, and the woman made a run for the new vehicle, accompanied by a few soldiers. The humvee took off down the road, leaving the men behind.  
Kate ducked low and moved around the corner towards the melee. Connor ghosted behind her. He noticed a man standing, shaking, behind the overturned car.   
One of the demons was now scything through the men, swinging its arms wildly, obviously becoming more and more powerful with each life it took.  
Kate stopped and glanced back at Connor.  
" I don't know how we're going to end this one…"  
Connor smiled grimly. "I think I might."

Angel rounded another corner. They hadn't seen any supernatural activity at all, not even a simple vampire.  
" I don't understand it…" he muttered.  
" Maybe the demon underworld's staying put because of the new arrivals," suggested Wesley, guessing the reason Angel was feeling frustrated.  
" Yeah, maybe. I keep thinking of what Cordy's so afraid of, though. Whether this is the thing we have to stop."  
" I doubt a few demons, as capable as they are at causing havoc, would frighten Cordelia into hiding away."  
Angel smiled. "True."  
He glanced quickly around the car, checking for remains of demon that might remain.  
Wesley caught him. "Angel, the blood evaporated and the pieces of flesh dissolved, there's nothing left in here."  
" Yeah, I know…I just had to -" he stopped, listening intently.  
" What is it?" asked Wesley, fully aware Angel possessed much better hearing than him.  
" Gunfire," was the reply, and he swung the car to head towards the sounds.  
Wesley once again produced the shotgun seemingly from thin air, and began to check it over. Angel glanced over but didn't ask him where it had been hidden again.  
The roaring of a Sha'Tan'Uo became increasingly evident.  
Suddenly a humvee shot across the intersection ahead of them and Angel had to swerve hard to avoid it. They rounded the corner to see two of the demons fighting a group of heavily armed soldiers.  
" Wolfram and Hart?" asked Angel, and Wesley just shrugged.  
They headed down the street.

Connor ran over to a downed soldier and removed his weapon.  
" Do you have a specific idea in mind or were you just planning on general suicide?" asked Kate. "You can't take those things on; they've just killed a small army!"  
Connor didn't reply, he just aimed the pistol at the power cable above the street and fired. It shot loose of the wall and snapped down onto the concrete. Connor removed the soldiers' gloves, put them on and grabbed the cable.

A kid made a run from behind a turned over humvee down the street towards them, and one of the demons broke into a run after him.  
Wesley reached across Angel and yanked the steering wheel to the side, pulling onto the other side of the road and facing the wall to their left. Angel slammed onto the brakes.  
" What the hell are you doing?" he cried.  
Wesley cocked the shotgun.

Justin couldn't feel his legs, yet they kept running beneath him. He could hear that thing chasing him behind him. He wanted to stop when the car pulled in front of him, but most of his body wouldn't respond to his brain any more.  
The window of the car wound down, and someone yelled, "Get down!" from inside.  
Somehow, he managed to throw one of his legs out of sync with the other one, causing him to crash down onto the concrete.  
The barrel of a gun poked out of the window above Justin and fired at the demon, sending it staggering backwards.  
The car door opened.  
" Get him into the car," called the newcomer. He leaped at the demon, starting to fight with it.  
Two hands picked him up and hauled him into the back seat of the car.  
" Stay here," an English voice told him, and Justin passed out.

Wesley checked to see if the kid was dead, found he was just unconscious and grabbed the shotgun from the front seat. He turned to see Angel battling with the Sha'Tan'Uo and headed to help him.  
" Angel!" he called, and Angel threw himself to the ground. He fired the shotgun, but the demon phased away for a brief second, its body turning into a green mist where the shrapnel would have hit it.  
" Great," he muttered, tossing the shotgun to ground. He flicked his wrist and the sword collapsed to full length. "Let's do this the old fashioned way."

  



	5. Three to go?

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except my own. I own them. They're mine!  
Timeline: Mid season 4, just before 'Apocalypse Nowish.' Just allow a bit more time for these events to happen hehe. 

Connor sprinted across the road, power cable in his hands, towards the remaining Sha'Tan'Uo. He heard Kate mutter something about crazy kids behind him, and then he was there, right in front of the thing.  
It was the one filled with bullet holes.  
" Fancy seeing you here," said Kate from beside him.  
It turned to look down at them, and Connor plunged the cable into its chest, leaping away once he had done so.  
An enormous pop sounded as every light in the building the cable came from overloaded, and every muscle in the demons body locked into place. The only sound it made was a low groan in the back of its throat, but Connor was sure it was so low only his enhanced hearing could pick it up.  
Its eyes bored into Connor, willing the rest of its body to move and attack him, kill him, for what he'd done, but the current was simply too much. It toppled slowly back and collapsed onto the road, the ooze from its skin spraying everywhere as it impacted.  
Kate inspected the body. "Looks dead enough to me." Connor just nodded and checked the surrounding area.  
There were no soldiers left, or if there were they'd ran away when Connor had appeared. The other demon was further up the street, fighting who looked like…  
" Angel?" Kate asked, incredulous.  
Connor spun to face her. "You know Angel?"  
" Yeah, he's the one who saved my life, the one who I said you reminded me of."  
Connor shook his head, half smiling.  
" Why, what's your story?"  
" He's my father," he said, starting down the road.  
Kate gasped behind him.  
A shotgun blast echoed from the other guy fighting the demon.  
" And that looks like…" she whispered.

"Wesley!" cried Angel, rolling to avoid the demon's stamping foot.  
Wesley swung at the Sha'Tan'Uo, but it was simply too strong for him to fight. It grabbed hold of him, lifted him up into the air and threw him against the convertible. Angel grabbed hold of the demons leg and yanked on it, knocking it off balance. A new figure crashed into the demon, knocking it to the ground.  
" Connor?" asked Angel. But then he leaped to his feet and punched the small of the demons back. He drew his arm away and flicked his wrist, causing a stake to appear. He plunged it into the demon's back, making it scream with pain. It pushed itself up, throwing Angel to the ground. Connor kicked at it but his foot shot through the mist the demon's midsection suddenly became. Wesley slashed at it, but the same thing happened.  
Angel flew forward, stabbing at the demon. The stake plunged into the demon again and again, and it grabbed the vampire and threw him against the wall of a nearby building.  
A blonde woman ran up to join the melee against the Sha'Tan'Uo.  
" Kate!?" Angel said in surprise.  
The demon had hold of Wesley.  
" Stop saying names and fight the bloody thing!" he rasped before chopping at the demon's arm and making it let go of him. He spun through the mist just as it reformed, swinging at the demon once again.  
Kate drew her pistol and took aim at the creature, opening fire. As before, the demon phased out causing the bullets to pass through it harmlessly.  
Angel got to his feet, tackling the demon at the waist. It didn't do much, but the Sha'Tan'Uo was knocked off balance for a few seconds.  
Connor went to punch it in the face, but it misted away for the brief seconds Connor's fist was in contact with its skin.  
Angel attacked it with the stake again, opening more wounds in the demons side. The Sha'Tan'Uo brought its elbow down onto Angel's back and he crumbled to the ground on all fours.  
It kicked him in the stomach with enough force to lift him off the ground and sent him spinning along the ground.  
It turned to Wesley, who stared grimly back at it.  
Wesley gave the Sha'Tan'Uo an odd look, and feigned a swing at it. Nothing misted away. The demon advanced on him, and Connor ran at it, jumping through the air…  
And sailing straight through the Sha'Tan'Uo, which became almost totally immaterial, reforming when Connor hit the concrete on the other side. Kate was standing off to one side, obviously frustrated – she wasn't physically strong enough to take on the demon and she couldn't kill it with her pistol.  
Suddenly something flashed on the periphery of Wesley's vision and before he could blink, Angel had clubbed the demon in its head with the butt of the shotgun. Its snout crumpled, making it stagger backwards, clawing at its face while at the same time attempting to attack Angel.  
Wesley lunged forward, stabbing at the demons chest. Then something quite bizarre happened.  
The Sha'Tan'Uo became immaterial as before, but before Wesley had time to withdraw the sword, the mist turned back into flesh and the sword was suddenly wedged inside the demon. It struggled vainly to remove it with one clawed hand while keeping the other on its face. Wesley tried pulling his arm away but as the sword was attached to his arm, and the sword was stuck inside the demon…  
It snarled at him and went to swipe at Wesley's face, but Connor blocked the attack, in a manner of speaking. As the demon misted its arm to block Connor's block, it also caused the swipe to pass through both Connor's arm and through Wesley.  
Taking careful aim, Kate shot a few rounds at the demon. Several passed right through as before, but a couple actually wounded it.  
The Sha'Tan'Uo was roaring in frustration and agony now, it was definitely growing weaker.  
Suddenly the sword shot loose out of the demon and Wesley, thrown off balance, flew backwards onto the concrete.  
" Connor, get down!" called Angel, and Connor instinctively threw himself to the side.  
The Sha'Tan'Uo turned to face Angel.  
Angel levelled the shotgun at the demon and smiled.  
" Do you feel lucky, punk?"  
The demon growled.  
" Well…do you?"  
It lunged forward and Angel shot it at point blank range, fatally wounding it. Gore shot out in all directions and the Sha'Tan'Uo collapsed with a sigh of air onto the concrete.  
A slow, final gurgle emanated from the back of the demons throat…and then the night was silent again.  
Wesley sat up, muscles aching. Connor slouched against the car beside him. Kate removed the clip from the pistol and replaced it with a new one.  
Angel walked over and handed the shotgun to Wesley, who accepted it.  
" Now I see why you like that thing, Wes," he smiled.  
Wesley grinned wearily and started checking over the weapon.  
He crouched next to Connor. "Are you okay, son?"  
Connor nodded and turned his head away. Angel looked on sadly for a moment but knew when not to press a situation. Then he turned to Kate.  
" And I don't think I should have to say that you're the last person I expected to see here."  
Kate shrugged. "Someone needs to keep the order around here, seeing as you're doing such a half-ass job of it." She planted her hands firmly on her hips. Angel looked away, trying to look suitably ashamed of the mess he'd let the street get into.  
The power cable still sparked further down the street, now fused completely to the blackened Sha'Tan'Uos chest. Corpses from all walks of life lay at various angles on either side of the road and the humvee still lay on its side. And now the lifeless body of the third Sha'Tan'Uo added to the body pile.  
Kate smirked. "I'm only joking. None of this was your fault."  
" Yeah, well, somehow it feels like it," said Angel.  
" If anything it was that woman's fault," said Connor.  
" What woman?" asked Wesley.  
" The woman in the suit running the show from the other side of the street when we arrived," said Kate.  
Angel looked at Wesley. "Lilah," they said together.  
" Who's Lilah?"  
" Senior member of the Special Projects division at Wolfram and Hart," answered Wesley.  
Kate blinked. "Wow, those guys certainly get around if a law firm is trying to kill demons on the streets."  
" They aren't good guys, Kate, they were probably trying to bargain with it using this kid as some kind of lure," said Angel. Then he glanced down the street. "Except it obviously didn't…quite…work." He winced as he realised just how many dead Wolfram and Hart operatives lay on the road. Then he looked back at his car. "Speaking of which…"  
He walked towards the car and looked into the back seat.  
" Oh," he said. "Oh, man!" He clambered inside the convertible making the others wonder just what he was doing. Wesley stood up and looked inside the car.  
" Dear God…"  
The kid was convulsing slightly, blood seeping from the small holes in his chest. Angel was trying to decide to do – he couldn't give first aid and he didn't want to move the kid. Wesley tugged on his coat.  
" Move!" Angel scrambled out of the car letting Wesley in. He could hear him check the kids pulse.  
" What's going on?" asked Connor, actually sounding concerned.  
" It's the kid," said Angel. "He's bleeding pretty badly."  
" Why? Did the demon catch up to him?" asked Kate.  
Angel was about to answer her when he stopped himself and looked at Kate's hip.  
" What?" she asked.  
" It was you," he said.  
She put her hand onto her hip and felt cold metal. Her pistol.  
" Oh my God, when the demon turned into that mist…" she gasped.  
" We need to get him stabilised!" cried Wesley from inside of the car. Connor stood with Kate, looking on, helpless, while Angel ran around the other side of the car and opened the back door on the other side.  
" No," said Kate all of a sudden. "He's not gonna make it."  
Connor glanced sideways at her, then she grabbed his sleeve and shoved him at the car, opening the passenger door.  
" We have to get him to a hospital!" She ran to the driver's side, opening the door.  
Then she looked up. "Oh my God," she muttered.  
The Sha'Tan'Uo was pulling the power cable from its chest, standing up and looking down the street at them.  
The closer demon's arm started to twitch.  
" Angel!" she called. Angel clambered out of the car and looked at what she was staring at.  
" Oh, man…"  
Wesley was shouting for them to get a move on, that the kid wasn't going to survive. Connor stared at the demon he'd helped kill twice now.  
" Angel, what do we do?" asked Kate.  
" Uhm…I…I don't know," said Angel. There wasn't enough time to get away from the demons, they'd catch up to the car and kill them.  
His mind raced, but no alternatives presented themselves. The further demon was now on its feet, lumbering towards them.  
" I don't know," he whispered.

  
******  
Eagle eyed readers may have noticed a few S4 nods in the past couple of chapters hehe. We're still in the same night as the start of the chapter btw – I think it works out as two nights before the Beast bursts through the ground. I'm trying to write it as a lost episode, which would be episode 6.5, after 'Spin the Bottle' and just before 'Apocalypse Nowish'. Review please, and the next chapter'll probably be up in the next week.

  



End file.
